Dominic D'Alessandro, President and CEO, is pleased to announce the following senior management appointments:

Victor Apps is appointed Executive Vice President, Asia. Based in Hong Kong, Mr. Apps assumes responsibility for all Asian operations. Mr. Apps joined Manulife in 1970. He holds an M.A. from Cambridge University, U.K..

Felix Chee is appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer overseeing the company's worldwide Investment operations, including relationships with third-party asset management service providers. Mr. Chee joined Manulife in 1993. Previously he held positions with the International Finance Corporation of Washington, D.C., and Ontario Hydro. He holds an MBA from York University and an MSc from Imperial College, U.K..

Trevor Matthews is appointed Executive Vice President, Canadian Operations, based in Waterloo, Ontario. Mr. Matthews spent most of his career with the British-owned firm of Legal & General (L&G), becoming Managing Director of it's Australian subsidiary. Before joining Manulife this year, Mr. Matthews was General Manager, Personal Financial Services at the National Australia Bank. He holds an MA in Actuarial Studies and was recently President of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.

John Richardson is appointed Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations and heads Manulife's worldwide reinsurance business. Mr. Richardson joined Manulife in 1992, following 20 years of senior experience in financial services . Mr. Richardson is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Peter Rubenovitch is appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Rubenovitch joined Manulife in 1995 with a senior finance background in The Royal Bank of Canada, Globe International Inc., and Tion Financial Corporation. He holds an MBA in Finance from Sir George Williams University.

Manulife Financial is a leading provider of life insurance and investment management products in Canada, the United States and Asia, with more than 250 offices in 13 countries worldwide. Assets under administration by the company and its subsidiaries as at December 31, 1997, were $79.7 billion.

On January 20, 1998, the company announced that it is preparing a plan to convert from a mutual life insurance company to an investor-owned, publicly-traded stock company.